Desserts
by Niss Trah
Summary: Tag for season 1's Solitudes. Carter and O'Neill do a little bonding after their ordeal in Antarctica. 2nd in the Sam/Jack episode tags.


Hello again all! So, this series of stories is going slower than I thought and I don't like this one as much, but once I start something, I have to finish it, so here it is. I feel like it is missing something or maybe it's too early for some of Sam's thoughts. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

Desserts

Tag to Solitudes

Sam Carter had just sat down in the commissary at McMurdo Station and tucked into a bowl of Jell-O when she saw Colonel O'Neill hobbling toward her on his crutches. He had a look of pure exasperation on his face and she jumped up in preparation and pulled out the chair across from hers. As he approached and stopped before her with a grunt, she smiled brightly at him.

"Hi Sir! Have a seat. You want me to get you a slice of pie? I'm pretty sure they have like four different kinds. Can you eat pie yet? Should you even be walking around right now sir? You've only been out of surgery for two days and I don't think they will be very happy with yo…"

"Carter stop!" O'Neill hoarsely interrupted her and she cringed at his raw voice. "I know you're just trying to help," he rasped out "but I just want to sit and while I, for once, actually understood your rambling, just sit down okay?" He gestured at the chair she had evacuated and she sheepishly sat down.

"Sorry Sir." She smiled at O'Neill and he rolled his eyes and nodded his acceptance of her apology when she handed him her unopened water bottle. "Here Colonel, I think your throat might appreciate some water." Sam smiled again when he took it and hid a chuckle when he opened it and gulped down half the bottle. When he caught her trying not to laugh he rolled his eyes again and his whispered response was teasing, though she was sure he was probably trying to come across as grumpy and angry.

"Oh shush Carter. Yes my throat hurts from that damn tube they shoved down my throat and then yanked back out. As for being out and about; those nurses were trying to kill me, honestly! I just needed to get out for a while. Don't tell on me huh?" He smiled beseechingly at her and she grinned back.

"Sure Sir, I won't tell. I know you hate being a patient, but you really should be back in the infirmary. You did just have major surgery you know." Sam looked at him pointedly, grateful once again that he appreciated her opinion and she was able to speak freely with him. He'd been friendly with her when she had visited him after his surgery and she liked to think that their ordeal here in Antarctica had pulled them into a bit of a friendship. They'd bonded in that cavern, she was sure of it, and she now felt more comfortable talking with him as a friend, instead of as simply her commanding officer. Sam hoped that O'Neill agreed with her and thought maybe he did when he nodded in agreement at her words even as he grimaced when she mentioned the infirmary.

"Yeah, yeah Carter. I'll go back soon. Just ah…let me take a break from the evil Frasier wannabe's huh?" Sam snorted in response and he grinned when she nodded in acceptance of his plan. She nudged her bowl of Jell-o toward him and pulled out a hidden extra spoon from under her napkin. He raised his eyebrows at her and questioned the spoon. "Carter? Were you umm…expecting someone?" She watched as his eyes glanced around the room. If she wasn't mistaken, he seemed apprehensive or nervous…she couldn't quite place the look in his eyes. She watched in fascination as he turned back to her and practically stuttered like a school boy. "Because, ah, you know, if you were umm, waiting for someone, I could, well, take a seat somewhere else."

Sam had to bite her tongue to keep from chuckling at him. She had NEVER seen him look so out of his element. She decided to put him out of his misery even as the little devil on her shoulder wanted to tease him a bit first. After all, she had yet to repay him for that sidearm crack he'd made back in the cave. But her sense of compassion won out.

"Sir, General Hammond, Teal'c and Daniel are all helping with the excavation right now and other than them, you're the only person I know here. I was waiting for you." She smiled at him and hoped that he didn't think her too presumptuous for knowing he was coming. When he just stared at her in surprise, her grin widened but then she grimaced and her hand flew to her cheek when the smile pulled at her healing skin. "You see Sir, I've heard you complain…" at his warning look, she rephrased "ah, I've heard your discussions in the infirmary with Dr. Frasier enough in the last year that I know you hate being in there for any length of time, and since you seemed to be feeling pretty good when I was there earlier, I just figured you wouldn't be able to resist the pull of pie and other desserts, so I decided to be prepared." She smiled again at him, careful to keep it light so that her stiches wouldn't pull out. He looked a little offended at the start of her explanation, but had inexplicably brightened at the end and now he had that look in his eye that he normally reserved for off color comments that made General Hammond threaten to demote him. She waited nervously as he simply eyed her, his own grin growing as hers diminished. After a moment of tense silence in which she started to think maybe he was angry with her, he spoke.

"Think pretty highly of yourself don't you Carter?" He waggled his eyebrows at her in what she thought was supposed to be a suggestive way, but she was lost. At her look of confusion he grinned again and elaborated. "OTHER desserts Carter? Does that mean you were hoping to regenerate that shared body heat we had going in the cave?" She looked at him in shock. Though they had gotten friendly in the last year and she had loosened up around him, he had never so blatantly flirted with her before. She gaped at him and tried to think of a way to respond without causing problems.

'_Oh my GOD! Is he freaking kidding me right now? I mean, we get along and all but we couldn't start something…could we? SAMANTHA! Of course we couldn't! He's your boss. BE RATIONAL.' _Her internal rant was interrupted when she noticed the glint in his eyes and the twitching at the edge of his mouth.

"Sir!" She exclaimed when he lost control and burst into laughter. She tried to look offended but couldn't hold back from joining in his laughter. She rolled her eyes and shook her head at him. His chuckling died off and he let out a gasp and grabbed his side and she pinned him with a scolding look for aggravating his broken ribs. Sam got up and came around to his side of the table. "Come on Sir. Let's get you back to the infirmary. You need more rest." She pulled his crutches toward his chair, gave him a helping hand up and after making sure he was balanced, she walked with him out of the commissary. He grumbled the whole way about not needing to be babied, but she could tell that his ribs were bothering him. When they reached the infirmary she boldly helped him into his bed and propped his heavily casted leg up. She fussed with his blankets for a moment, but his hand on her arm stopped her. She looked to his eyes and smiled.

"Sorry Sir, I guess there's a part of me that's still a little worried that you're about to keel over. I'm glad you're feeling better though." She surprised herself with that confession of worry and shifted her eyes to the wall behind his head. Her feelings of sheer terror in the cave when she had accepted that they were going to die there had returned with a vengeance and she blinked back the tears that pooled in her eyes. His soft, raspy voice made her look back at him again and what she saw comforted her.

"Sam, I'm fine, thanks to you. You did everything you possibly could out there. Thank you." He looked into her eyes and she could see that he meant it. Her eyes filled with new tears, tears of gratitude for this amazing man. She smiled and blinked them away again. She'd known for a few months now that she was developing some sort of feelings for Jack O'Neill and she knew if she spent too long gazing into his gorgeous eyes, she would fall, hard.

"Anytime Sir. Can I get you anything? Water? Magazine?...Dessert?" She smirked when his eyes jumped to hers in surprise and then he grinned at her return to their lighthearted banter. When he assured her he was fine and she left the room with one last grin and a wink, she walked down the hallway and smiled to herself, trying not to think about how adorable Jack O'Neill was when confined to the infirmary…or when in the field, or daydreaming during briefings, or when they were lost in a cave in Antarctica and she was cuddled close to his side… '_SAMANTHA CARTER! Stop thinking about the Colonel this way. He is NOT attractive and you DON'T want to find out if his hair is as soft as it looks_.' She marched off toward the McMurdo's control room with steely determination to not fall for her commanding officer.


End file.
